The Night Watch set the tone for my whole day at the Rijksmuseum, and it left me with enormous respect for the genius that was Rembrandt. So it was a surprise to …
- Amsterdam
The Fault in Our Stars in Amsterdam: The Bench, the Canals and the Anne Frank House
by Bubblyby Bubbly 6 min readTickets for the Anne Frank House had sold out weeks before my trip, so the closest I came was the far side of the Prinsengracht, looking at the pavement packed with people …
- Amsterdam
Spot the Mouse: Hidden Creatures in the Rijksmuseum’s Still Lifes
by Bubblyby Bubbly 9 min readI have always been intrigued by still life paintings. I had heard they were where young artists started out, learning colour, light and texture on a bowl of fruit or a jar …
- Amsterdam
5 Days in Amsterdam: A Slower Itinerary with Tulips and Windmills
by Bubblyby Bubbly 7 min readThree days in Amsterdam covers the big sights. Five days lets them breathe. There is time to see the Rijksmuseum without rushing the Vermeers, to give Keukenhof the full day it deserves, …
Amsterdam‘s Red Light District, known in Dutch as De Wallen, is one of those places almost every visitor to Amsterdam wants to see, and walking tours of it are very popular. So …
I passed through Museumplein more times than I can count on this trip. It sits between the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and Moco, and it is a short walk from the …
The Netherlands is small, and the trains are good, so a lot of the country is within a day of Amsterdam. I only managed two day trips: Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans, on …
At the end of April and the start of May, I thought the city centre would be buzzing with tulips. It wasn’t. Maybe I had missed the moment. Amsterdam was buzzing in …
- Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum Gallery of Honour: Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Crowds
by Bubblyby Bubbly 7 min readAfter the Night Watch, I thought the rest of the Gallery of Honour would be a breeze. The Night Watch hangs in its own room at the far end of the gallery, …
I did not expect to love the pasta at The Duchess in Amsterdam as much as I did. Every dish we ordered was excellent and full of flavour, and the pastas were …
Amsterdam rewards a plan. The Night Watch, Almond Blossom and the canal ring are all here, but so are the timed tickets, the terraces where nobody gives up a table on a …
- Amsterdam
‘t Nieuwe Kafé: Drinks on Dam Square Beside the Royal Palace
by Bubblyby Bubbly 5 min read‘t Nieuwe Kafé is on Dam Square, facing the Royal Palace, right in the centre of Amsterdam. The W Amsterdam, where we stayed for a few days, sits just behind the palace, …